GRASS SILAGE 9 



some farmers. Where potatoes are grown on stony or gravelly land, stones fre- 

 quently get mixed in with them because mechanical harvesters do not screen 

 them out. Stones of a certain size, shape, and color so closely resemble a potato 

 that they defy anything but the closest scrutiny, and no practical means of 

 eliminating them is known that does not involve considerable extra labor. 



It is our belief that surplus potatoes might much better be diverted to the 

 manufacture of industrial alcohol, thus releasing corresponding amounts of corn 

 and other grains for livestock feeding. The idea of making potato silage is not 

 new; it has been practiced in Europe for many years, particularly in Germany. 

 There they are ensiled almost entirely in stacks and trenches, a system that has 

 not found favor in New England. 



All in all, it would seem that, under our conditions, the best method of disposal 

 of potatoes if and when they arfe fed to livestock, is to feed them out as such, 

 raw for cattle, cooked for swine or poultry. 



Summary 



The making of grass silage has become an accepted alternative method of 

 storing forage. It should be recognized as a supplement to, not a substitute for, 

 ordinary hay making. 



A good quality of grass silage can be made without a preservative by wilting 

 the crop to the proper moisture content. When for an^' reason it is impracticable 

 to wilt, some preservative is necessary for succulent grasses and legumes. Corn 

 never needs a preservative, and the same is true for the small grains if they have 

 reached a proper degree of maturity (dough stage of the grain). 



Suitable preservatives are molasses or any kind of ground cereal grain. The 

 minimum amount of molasses recommended is 60 pounds per ton of green crop. 

 A suitable amount of ground grain is 150 pounds per ton, applied through the 

 blower as chopping proceeds. 



Urea, lactic acid cultures, salt, and a combination of culture and salt, proved 

 unsatisfactory as silage preservatives. 



Harvesting is best done with the special loading machinery now recommended 

 for handling the heavy green crop. Where wilting is practiced, the side-delivery 

 rake can be used; where wilting is not practiced, a windrowing attachment for 

 the mower eliminates the raking operation. Field choppers are proving their 

 merits in service; where they are used wilting is impractical. 



Seepage should either be controlled at the source or if unavoidable should be 

 allowed to drain off. Adequate drainage should be provided for it to obviate 

 the nuisance of odor and flies. Seepage need never be a source of serious loss of 

 nutrients. 



Regardless of the crop from which it is made, grass silage is quite different in 

 composition from corn silage, containing more protein, fat, fiber, and minerals 

 and less carboh> drates. 



Principal changes in composition as a result of the ensiling process are a de- 

 crease in protein and carbohydrates and a corresponding relative increase in 

 crude fat and fiber. 



